The present invention relates to boat hulls, and specifically to a new hull for kayaks.
A conventional kayak is generally symmetrical in hull form when viewed bow to cockpit and cockpit to stern and situates a cockpit in the center or slightly aft center of the craft, and centrally of port and starboard sides. Specifically, a conventional hull is generally symmetrical in keel line extending fore and aft when viewed in side elevation of the hull. When water borne, the kayak has a generally symmetrical waterline extending bow to stern. The wetted area of the hull as well as the shape of the hull (both fore to aft and port to starboard) is the same for the portion of the craft extending from bow to cockpit, as for the portion extending from cockpit to stern. The keel line at bow and stern is normally in the water when underway.
The result is a stable craft, centrally balanced from bow to stern with center of buoyancy at the cockpit, easily propelled by oar, and with the craft rotating about the cockpit in turning maneuvers and encountering water resistance over substantially the entire length of the hull. A paddler in the cockpit in turning the craft with an oar applies a turning moment to the entire wetted surface from stem to stern.
Conventional single occupant kayaks and similar watercraft are characterized in location of the cockpit in the middle section of the hull equidistant from bow and stern. For example, Broadhurst U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,490 discloses a watercraft comprising a hull construction useful for recreation and water sports and having a cockpit indentation located on the top part of the hull. The Broadhurst cockpit is located within the middle section of the hull within an area that is from about 25-30% of the length aft of the bow to about 60-65% of the length aft of the bow. Such middle section location of a cockpit is required in order to maintain proper level trim of the watercraft. Moreover, Broadhurst desires a keel line rise from middle section to bow of about 2 to 4 times the keel line rise from middle section to the stern. A middle section cockpit, then, is essential in realizing a keel line rise toward the bow as desired by Broadhurst. Moreover, the Broadhurst watercraft may have a fin positioned on the bottom part of the hull located from about 75 to 85% of the length of the hull aft of the bow. Accordingly the aft section of the hull must be in the water to utilize the fin, a condition assured by cockpit location in the middle section of the hull.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,252 to King and U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,084 to McDonough both disclose single occupant kayaks with cockpits in the middle section of the hull. U.S. Design Pat. No D332774 to Arcoutte is directed to both single and double occupant watercraft. In both single occupant and double occupant versions of Arcoutte, the cockpits are located centrally of a midpoint of the craft.
A conventional kayak then is a lightweight craft with symmetrical hull, cockpit located in the middle section of the hull, easy to propel manually, having water borne stability characterized by a wetted area extending bow to stern, and having a slow and predictable maneuvering capability.
The present invention provides a single occupant kayak characterized in being a stable craft, easily propelled by oar, and faster and highly maneuverable in comparison to conventional kayaks.